The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on school construction policy in the 2024 General Assembly session.
County Governments partner with the State of Maryland to fund school construction projects throughout Maryland. K-12 school renovation and construction projects make up a substantial portion of any county’s capital budget, and the needs of Maryland students are consistently a high priority.
Maryland’s 446th legislative session convened amidst a substantial concern over the State’s fiscal situation, with weakened revenues and cost increases for many services at every level of government. Despite the fiscal limitations, a wide range of policy issues received a full debate, with many resolutions arising from the 90-day annual process. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions on hundreds of bills, yielding many productive compromises and gains spanning counties’ uniquely wide portfolio.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
Facilities Regulations
MACo supported HB 877/SB 703- Board of Public Works – Transparency Data Dashboard. This bill would create an online dashboard maintained by the Office of the Comptroller to increase transparency and accessibility of Board of Public Works processes and funded projects. In doing so, the public and local governments that do business with the State will have access to more comprehensive information and resources in real time as the State considers capital projects. This bill passed during the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
School Construction and School Capital Improvement Projects
MACo opposed HB 196/SB 724- Motor Vehicles – School Buses – Seat Belts. HB 196 would have required every school bus purchased after October 1, 2024, to have seat belts, and every school bus purchased prior to that date to be retrofitted with seat belts by October 1, 2026. While counties appreciated the safety concerns raised by the bill, complying with its requirements would have posed a significant financial and labor challenge for county governments. This bill advanced in amended form from the House, but not the Senate, and thus did not pass during the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 427/SB 393- Higher Education – Community College Facilities Renewal Grant Program – Alterations. This bill would have appropriately updated the Community College Construction Program and its State funding to allow all 16 of Maryland’s community colleges to annually access critical funding for new construction and capital maintenance. This bill did not pass during the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed SB 200- Counties – Construction of Sidewalks and Crosswalks – Safe Alternative Routes to Public Schools. While this bill was well-intentioned, it would have placed a costly mandate on county governments to carry out new state policies to create sidewalks and crosswalks as alternative routes for all public school students. MACo did not raise any policy objections to the bill’s goal of ensuring safe routes for students – county concerns were merely practical and cost-driven. This bill did not pass during the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
